‘A Lot of Underbrush and 14,000 People With Matches’

The Wall Street Journal’s John Fund predicted the 2008 presidential election would “go into overtime” with a close race creating “incentives for some actors to create chaos.” Speaking to Heritage’s weekly Conservative Bloggers’ Briefing, Fund noted that this election would be just the second election under the Help America Vote Act, which forces states to accept and later count provisional ballots. Unlike 2004, however, this election looks to be much closer and groups like ACORN have been flooding voter registration offices with last-second voter applications, many of which prove fraudulent.

Fund said that ACORN’s goal is rarely outright voter fraud. Instead, it is aiming to overwhelm local officials so that when confusion ensues on Election Day, the line between incompetence and fraud is blurred. That is where the matches come in:

The Obama campaign has 9,000 lawyers nationwide ready to file suits on Election Day. The McCain campaign has 5,000 lawyers of its own. A lot of underbrush has grown in our voting infrastructure since 2004, and this year there are over 14,000 people walking around with matches trying to light it.

Fund, who makes these same arguments in his book “Stealing Elections: How Voter Fraud Threatens Our Democracy,” says the damage from voting chicanery can be mitigated through vigilance. He advises those that care about free and fair elections to volunteer to be polling station monitors so there is a better factual record if and when actual litigation occurs.

Join The Discussion

I was an Officer of Elections (Chief) in Loudoun County, Va before relocating to Africa. I served in every election (local, State and Federal) from 2002 through early-2007. Monitors are not the answer. There are too few monitors (and possibly too divisive) and for a big election, there are too many voters for them to keep an accurate track, I don't care what party they are. If you really, really want to help, become an Officer of Elections. OK, the pay is miniscule and the responsibility is great, but it can be very satisfying. And you can (and must) act in an unpartisan manner and still be aware (perhaps even more aware) of irregularities. Plus, you really begin to understand what it takes to actually run an election.

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